Disciplines

In recent times, physics and astrophysics have come to
play a central role in shaping what is now known as physical
cosmology by bringing observations and mathematical tools to
analyze the universe as a whole: in other words, in the
understanding of the universe through scientific observation and
experiment. This discipline, which focuses on the universe as it
exists on the largest scale and at the earliest moments, is
generally understood to begin with the big bang
(possibly combined with cosmic
inflation) - an
expansion of space from which the Universe itself is thought to
have emerged ~ (13.7
billion) years ago . From its violent beginnings and until its
various speculative ends,
cosmologists propose that the history of the Universe has been
governed entirely by physical
laws.

Between the domains of religion
and science, stands the philosophical perspective of
metaphysical
cosmology. This ancient field of study seeks to draw intuitive conclusions about
the nature of the universe, man, god and/or their relationships
based on the extension of some set of presumed facts borrowed from
spiritual experience and/or observation.

But metaphysical cosmology has also been observed
as the placing of man in the universe in relationship to all other
entities. This is demonstrated by the observation made by Marcus
Aurelius of a man's place in that relationship: " “He who does not
know what the world is does not know where he is, and he who does
not know for what purpose the world exists, does not know who he
is, nor what the world is.” This is the purpose of the ancient
metaphysical cosmology. However, Stoicism rejected Aristotle's
theory of universals as being "in the things themselves," calling
them "figments of the mind."
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy adopting the concept of
universals as being "concepts," and therefore of the mind, and
therefore controllable by free will. Thus, we get the analysis of
Aurelius' that the nature of the universe is not from "intuition,"
but from a free-will, conceptual understanding of the nature of the
universe.

A more contemporary distinction between religion
and philosophy, esoteric
cosmology is distinguished from religion in its less
tradition-bound construction and reliance on modern "intellectual
understanding" rather than faith, and from philosophy in its
emphasis on spirituality as a formative
concept.

There are many historical cosmologies:

“…the universe itself acts on us as a
random, inefficient, and yet in the long run effective, teaching
machine. …our way of looking at the universe has gradually evolved
through a natural selection of ideas.” —Steven
Weinberg

Historical Cosmologies

The following table outlines the
significant historical cosmologies in chronological order.

With Isaac Newton
and the 1687 publication of
Principia Mathematica, the problem of the motion of the heavens
was finally solved. Newton provided a physical mechanism for
Kepler's
laws and his
law of universal gravitation allowed the anomalies in previous systems,
caused by gravitational interaction between the planets, to be
resolved. A fundamental difference between Newton's cosmology and
those preceding it was the Copernican
principle that the bodies on earth obey the same physical
laws as all the celestial bodies. This was a crucial
philosophical advance in physical cosmology.

Modern scientific cosmology is usually considered
to have begun in 1917 with Albert
Einstein's publication of his final modification of general
relativity in the paper "Cosmological Considerations of the
General Theory of Relativity," (although this paper was not widely
available outside of Germany until the end of World War
I). General relativity prompted cosmogonists such as Willem de
Sitter, Karl
Schwarzschild and Arthur
Eddington to explore the astronomical consequences of the
theory, which enhanced the growing ability of astronomers to study very
distant objects. Prior to this (and for some time afterwards),
physicists assumed that the Universe was static and unchanging. In
parallel to this dynamic approach to cosmology, a debate was
unfolding regarding the nature of the cosmos itself. On the one
hand, Mount Wilson astronomer Harlow Shapley championed the model
of a cosmos made up of the Milky Way star
system only. Heber D.
Curtis, on the other hand, suggested spiral nebulae were star
systems in their own right, island universes. This difference of
ideas came to a climax with the organization of the Great Debate
at the meeting of the (US) National Academy of Sciences in
Washington on 26 April 1920. The resolution of the debate on the
structure of the cosmos came with the detection of novae in the
Andromeda
galaxy by Edwin Hubble
in 1923 and 1924. Their distance established spiral nebulae well
beyond the edge of the Milky Way and as galaxies of their own.
Subsequent modeling of the universe explored the possibility that
the cosmological
constant introduced by Einstein in his 1917 paper may result in
an expanding
universe, depending on its value. Thus the big bang theory
was proposed by the Belgian priest
Georges
Lemaître in 1927 which was subsequently corroborated by
Edwin
Hubble's discovery of the red shift in 1929
and later by the discovery of the
cosmic microwave background radiation by Arno Penzias
and Robert
Woodrow Wilson in 1964. These findings were a first step to
rule out some of many alternative
physical cosmologies.

Recent observations made by the COBE and WMAP satellites
observing this background radiation have effectively, in many
scientists' eyes, transformed cosmology from a highly speculative
science into a predictive science, as these observations matched
predictions made by a theory called Cosmic
inflation, which is a modification of the standard big bang theory.
This has led many to refer to modern times as the "Golden age of
cosmology".

Metaphysical cosmology

In philosophy and metaphysics, cosmology deals
with the world as the totality of space, time and all phenomena.
Historically, it has had quite a broad scope, and in many cases was
founded in religion. The ancient Greeks did not draw a distinction
between this use and their model for the cosmos. However, in modern
use it addresses questions about the Universe which are beyond the
scope of science. It is distinguished from religious cosmology in
that it approaches these questions using philosophical methods
(e.g. dialectics).
Modern metaphysical cosmology tries to address questions such as:

What is the ultimate reason for the existence of the Universe?
Does the cosmos have a purpose? (see teleology)

Religious cosmology

Many world religions have creation
myths that explain the beginnings of the Universe and life.
Often these are derived from scriptural teachings and held
to be part of the faith's dogma, but in some cases these are
also extended through the use of philosophical and metaphysical
arguments.

In some creation myths, the universe was created by a direct act of a
god or gods who are also
responsible for the creation of humanity (see
creationism). In
many cases, religious cosmologies also foretell the end of the Universe, either
through another divine act or as part of the original design.

Certain adherents of Buddhism, Hinduism (See also
Hindu
cosmology) and Jainism believe
that the Universe passes through endless cycles of creation and
destruction, each cycle lasting for trillions of years (e.g. 331
trillion years, or the life-span of Brahma, according to Hinduism), and
each cycle with sub-cycles of local creation and destruction (e.g.
4.32 billion years, or a day of Brahma, according to Hinduism). The
Vedic (Hindu)
view of the world sees one true divine principle self-projecting as
the divine word, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know from the
monistic Hiranyagarbha or Golden Womb.

A complex mixture of native Vedic gods, spirits, and demons,
overlaid with imported Hindu and Buddhist deities, beliefs, and
practices are the key to the Sri Lankan
cosmology.

The Australian
Aboriginal concept of Dreaming explains
the creation of the universe as an eternal continuum; everywhen.
Through certain ceremonies, the past "opens up" and comes into the
present. Each topographical feature is a manifestation of dormant
creation spirits; each individual has personal Dreamings and
ceremonial responsibilities to look after the spirits/land,
determined at birth, within this belief framework.

Esoteric cosmology

Many esoteric
and occult teachings
involve highly elaborate cosmologies. These constitute a "map" of
the Universe and of states of existences and consciousness
according to the worldview of that particular
doctrine. Such cosmologies cover many of the same concerns also
addressed by religious and philosophical cosmology, such as the
origin, purpose, and destiny of the Universe and of consciousness and the
nature of existence.
For this reason it is difficult to distinguish where religion or
philosophy end and esotericism and/or occultism begins.